Our time in Brunswick and St Simons Island has been speeding by, and in just a few days we will be back on the road heading West, but until then there are still things to see and do. Oh, and there is always time for a good protest, huh?
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| Protesting New Development |
Our friends, MK and Mimi have lived on the island for 9 years; they have seen the encroachment of commercial development eat away at the tranquil hideaway and blissful solitude that drew them here. As restaurants chains, and gas stations pop up on the island, urban creep seems to be crowding out the simple village ambiance and residents are not happy. That is how we got involved in a protest of island residents against the development of yet another gas station/convenience store being built along an already busy two-lane corridor on the island. Due to our protest signs and fliers distributed along Frederica Rd, a meeting of the Island Planning Commission the following day was packed beyond capacity with angry residents wanting to block the station from being built. They actually had to reschedule the meeting to a larger venue to allow all interested residents to attend. Our part was small, but it felt good to be a part of such an effort.
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| Fort Frederica |
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| Kat in a Hat |
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| The Wave! |
A major landmark on St Simons is Fort Frederica. The ruins, preserved now as a State Park, recall the struggle for empire in the southeast between rivals Great Britain and Spain. The Battle of Bloody Marsh saved the British Georgia Colony from Spanish invasion in 1742. Expecting an attack from Spanish held St. Augustine, British Commander James Oglethorpe with his regiment of 900 soldiers sent intercepting forces to ambush the invaders as they proceeded toward Fort Frederica. A second ambush later the same day convinced the Spanish that they were out numbered and caused them to retreat, with their 50 sailing vessels and 2000 men. The grounds of Fort Frederica consists of the uncovered foundations of the homes and ruins of the fort and barracks, as well as a cemetery.
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| Red finds our first geocache! |
While scouting out the area near Fort Frederica, we decided to check to see if there were any geocaches hidden in the area. Of course, we found there were many, so we decided to search for a couple to round out the day. Geocaching, for those who may not be familiar with it, is a recreational activity where geocaches are hidden by participants and then searched for by other participants using a GPS device like that found in most smart phones.
There are millions of geocaches that have been hidden all over the world, so it's an outdoor activity that can be enjoyed anywhere. For more information on how to join in, click here. This day we searched and found two caches....one located inside a fence post by a water tower, and the other on a nature walk close to Christs Church.
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| Christ Church, the 2nd oldest Episcopal Church in Georgia |
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| Cemetery at Christ Church |
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| Shrimp Feast! |
One of the best parts of our travel is getting to meet new people and friends of friends. While spending time with MK and Mimi, we were thrilled to meet Jimmy Ann and Janice and delighted to be invited for a lunch feast of boiled shrimp! The lake view from their dining room window presented a show of many of the birds on the island.
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| New Smart Car Owners |
Before starting our journey west, we were honored to accompany MK and Mimi on a road trip to Florida for their purchase of a Smart Car. After driving our Smart car they thought it would make a good island car, which I'm sure it will. Enjoyable, but also sad, as we parted ways in Jacksonville to start our trek to the Pacific Coast.
Follow us Westward!
The Bee-Gals
Kathy and Red
POST UPDATE -
Who would ever think that 1000 miles away from home we would run into a client from our Bee-Line Express shuttle service back in Quincy, IL. While visiting our friends in St Simons, we mentioned that a client of our service had moved down to this area. MK ask what her name was, and when we told her it was Becky Mentesti, she couldn't believe it, because Becky lives right there in their complex, just two doors down! So of course we had to go down and surprise her! She invited us in for a glass of wine and we got to catch up on a few Bee-Line Express memories. She loves living on the island and is getting to spend precious time with her grandkids, 3 year old twins Wilson and Calvin.
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